An experiential Seminar/Multimedia Workshop Experience
Facilitated by Peter Gold

"I am born a human being; what I have to acquire is being human" - Abraham Heschel

Without a firm grounding in the wisdom of the past we have little hope for a sustainable future.  Just as the foundation of a building supports all that rises upon it, so too must perennially-proven ideals, modes of expression and ways of acting in the world now guide us in reformulating our patterns of living.

Our present way of life has been informed by four, formative wisdom visions of the world.  These include in chronological order of their influence in the West: the Original Vision of the Paleolithic and Neolithic Ages, during which time humanity had its awakening and fundamental development; the Hermetic Vision of the perfected individual in a living cosmos, which has deep parallels in Tantric Buddhism; the Indigenous Vision of seeking a harmonious way of life in a sacred world, bequeathed to us by vanquished Native peoples; and the Mechanical Vision, the currently prevailing, material interpretation of the world and of human experience, which is now undergoing "quantum" shifts in understanding.

Building on this foundation, a vital fifth wisdom vision of the world, and of our place in it, has begun to materialize on the horizon.  It is the summation, "in a new key," of knowledge and practices from these earlier, formative visions of self and cosmos.  It pictures human life in synchrony with the dynamic equilibrium at the basis of our ever-flowing and creative reality.  This vision is an evocation of a living kind of wholeness in the world and within each person.

The Fifth Wisdom Vision Retreat is a multidimensional exploration into the possible forms that may be taken by such an emerging wisdom vision and its associated practices of living.  Its experiential seminar structure consists of slide presentations, lively discussions, guided meditations, creative artwork, music, poetics and movement.  On its conclusion, participants return to their daily realities as more thoughtful, sensitive and motivated agents of harmony and peace.

Peter Gold is a Research Associate at the Museum of New Mexico's Laboratory of Anthropology, in Sante Fe and teaches anthropology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, in San Francisco.  Peter is the author of four books on ancient and indigenous cultural wisdom, including the highly acclaimed: Navajo and Tibetan Sacred Wisdom:  The Circle of the Spirit.

The Fifth Wisdom Vision Retreat was held on Saturday, February 28th and Sunday, the 29th of 2004 at the SII Center in Crestone, CO. For more information on scheduling this highly recommended work shop in your area please contact Peter Gold directly through his website: www.ancientwaysproject.org.